Your First-Party Data Is Wasted Without This

"Retail media is a profit center. But only if you architect the data to support it."

That was the quiet bomb Puneet Gangrade dropped in this episode of the Applied Intelligence podcast.

Puneet Gangrade — the architect behind Snapchat and Pinterest’s clean room business, and the guy who helped Uber, Disney, Microsoft, Dick’s, and Hill’s Pet turn data collaboration into real revenue.

Now at LiveRamp, Puneet is helping enterprise brands and platforms turn data clean rooms into revenue-driving infrastructure.

In this episode of the Applied Intelligence podcast, we go deep on what it takes to turn data into revenue.

And why most CPGs are doing it backwards.

The Data Strategy Most CPGs Get Wrong

Everyone’s excited about clean rooms.

But here’s the problem: most CPGs are approaching data infrastructure like IT projects, not growth levers.

Puneet’s advice?

Start from the business objective.
→ Then build the data stack that can actually support it.

This isn’t about collecting every possible signal.
It’s about knowing which signals matter — and activating them precisely.

The New Measurement Standard: Real Outcomes

ROAS is dead. So are click-through rates.

Retail media needs to be measured on what it actually delivers:
✅ Incremental sales
✅ Household penetration
✅ Full-funnel lift

And that means pushing your retailers to open up the data that proves it.

Puneet explains how CPGs can co-develop measurement standards that serve both sides.

Why You Need to Rethink Your Clean Room Strategy

There’s a reason so many clean room pilots stall.

It’s not the tech — it’s the lack of clear use cases and ownership.

Puneet lays out a framework to:

• Define priority use cases by brand maturity

• Assign business leads, not just data teams

• Align incentives with your retailer partners

Clean rooms don’t transform your business.
Use cases do.

The Real Role of AI in Retail Media

AI won’t replace human strategy. But it will replace repetitive analysis.

What Puneet sees working:

• AI to summarize AMC dashboards

• NLP interfaces to ask natural-language questions

• Agentic systems that run tests and recommend optimizations

The goal?
Move your analysts up the value chain — from dashboard babysitters to strategic operators.

My Reflection

What struck me most about this conversation was how aligned Puneet and I are on one idea:

Retail media is not just a media challenge. It’s a data strategy challenge.

If you don’t own your ad accounts, centralize your performance data, and train your team to act on insights — AI won’t save you.

Puneet’s episode is a must-watch for any CPG leader serious about clean rooms, measurement, or retail media transformation.

🎧 Watch the full conversation with Puneet here:

I want to hear from you!

What did you think of today’s email? Reply and let me know!

Thanks for reading!

See you next week.

Imteaz & the Applied Intelligence team